Newfound Pleasures in Unexpected Places
by sdeei9285
Summary: Hermione finds herself unsatisfied in her relationship with Ron. When everything starts to go wrong, will she be able to find what she's always wanted somewhere completely unexpected? Rated M for a reason.
1. Prologue

**A/N:** I apologize if this is sloppy and lacking in writing skills in general. It's been a while since I've done this, so I'm just starting to get back into the swing of things. No need to be gentle, don't worry. Criticism would be useful right about now. I also apologize that this is so short. Just a quick prologue. I have no idea where this story will go. I'm not even entirely sure I have a plot. I'm just writing. And hopefully not self-reflecting... I should be getting the first chapter up within the hour. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the plot, or lack thereof.

Hermione sighed impatiently as Ron placed a sloppy kiss on her neck, his thrusts into her becoming jerky and losing any semblance of rhythm they once had. Taking her sound of discontentment as a moan of pleasure, he placed several more sloppy kisses upon her neck and shoulders.

Hermione wondered what in God's name was taking him so long. She wasn't surprised to find herself watching the clock. She always did. Seven minutes had already elapsed.

Hermione tried to look as if she was enjoying herself, opening her mouth a bit and rolling her eyes back. Ron faced her and came in for a kiss on the lips while his climax shuddered through him. He groaned and then collapsed on top of her, restricting her ability to breathe. She could feel his sweaty body against her own and found herself repulsed by the man on top of her.

The past couple of months of her newfound sex life had pretty much consistently gone this way. She was disappointed from the very first time.

This is not how it goes in the movies. Hell, it's sexier in those muggle science textbooks, she thought. Ron rolled off of her after regaining his breath.

"That... was amazing. You're amazing," Ron said, nuzzling into her neck. Hermione couldn't help but squirm at his compliment, considering how she felt about the whole experience. "Is something wrong?" he asked, propping himself up on his elbow. He looked so concerned. She couldn't help lying to keep him happy.

"No, everything is perfect." She smiled sweetly at him, placing a small peck on his nose. After all, she was pretty sure she loved him. She hated to see him unhappy, and she thoroughly enjoyed his company when clothes and conversation were involved. No, that was just a lie. In reality, Ron never talked about anything other than quidditch and it bored Hermione to tears. Anytime she tried talking about anything she was interested in, he would somehow change the subject back to quidditch. But still, he tried to listen. In all reality, they had nothing going for them other than all they had experienced together between six years of friendship and a year of war. Was that enough?

She couldn't bear the thought of breaking up with him. It would hurt her, and she knew it would devastate him.

But she wanted someone she had something in common with, and she so desperately wanted that hot, wild sex she couldn't keep herself from reading about in her romantic novels. She knew the storylines were complete shit, but she had to get off somehow, didn't she? She tried, anyway, by living vicariously through the always large-breasted female characters with names like Anastasia and Carmen. Although, she would never admit to reading these types of novels.

All she wanted was a little spontaneity. Something more than five thrusts, a grunt and a mess to clean up after. Looking over at the sweet man falling asleep next to her, she knew she would never get it.

Hermione had changed a lot since the war. She had become a harder person. She would no longer take shit from anyone. She couldn't bring herself to care what anyone thought of her anymore, either. She often found herself saying things that she never would have said in her wildest dreams as a young, innocent Hermione. She had seen far too much. Felt far too much. There was no way she could go back to being the girl that she once was. She realized there were much more important things in life than school and reputations. Now, she found more joy in the smaller things in life, and no longer took anything for granted. Her friends and her boyfriend had become her life, and she was not ready to lose them anytime soon. This is what kept her from ending things with Ron.


	2. An Unexpected Encounter

**A/N:** This is still short, but it's longer than the prologue. I probably could have written a longer chapter, but I wanted to get something a little more up today. Didn't want to piss too many people off by giving them 10 lines to read and then making them wait. Let me know what I can improve on, if you have any ideas. Thanks for reading.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the plot, or lack thereof.

Hermione woke early the next morning next to a snoring Ron. As carefully as she could, she slipped out of bed from underneath his arm. She found some clean clothes and combed her fingers through her hair, hoping it wasn't too unruly. Quietly, she snuck out of the room and went downstairs.

There were few who believed in early mornings at the Burrow. Arthur was already gone to work, and Molly was cleaning and preparing to make breakfast.

"Good morning, Molly," Hermione said pleasantly, taking a seat at the table. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

The usual, "Nope, I have everything under control, dear," followed. Crookshanks circled Hermione's ankles and then leapt onto her lap with his expectant gaze.

"Good morning to you, too." Hermione dazed off as she stroked his long fur, daydreaming about her return for her seventh year at Hogwarts the next day. Excitement fluttered in her stomach. She loved the Burrow, but she couldn't wait to have a bed to herself again, as well as the library at her dispense.

"Have you got everything you need for school?" Molly asked, as she absentmindedly tore through her morning chores.

"Not quite. I think I'll be needing a trip to Diagon Alley today. I just need to get a few odds and ends. I'd like to stop by the bookstore, as well."

"Do take the boys with you and make sure they have everything. I look forward to the day Ronald doesn't owl me, telling me he's forgotten something." She smiled at Hermione, who smiled back knowingly.

Hermione was surprised that Harry and Ron had made the decision to come back to school with her. She knew Ron was only coming because of her, but Harry had already been offered a job working for the Ministry as an auror. It was what he always wanted to do, and she couldn't figure out why he had turned it down.

"Of course. We can make a day of it."

They saw a lot of people that day in Diagon Alley. It was wonderful to see them, and to find out who was going back to school, but it was also a harsh reminder of those who would never walk the streets of Diagon Alley or the halls of Hogwarts again.

Hermione had eventually managed to shake off the boys at a quidditch shop and told them they could find her at Flourish and Blotts. She always hated when they tried to come to the bookstore with her. They would follow her around and constantly look over her shoulder. Then they would try to talk to her. She always got so frustrated. The new and not-quite-improved Hermione would probably have something to say about it. The old Hermione never did.

Her encounter with Draco Malfoy came as a complete surprise to her, as she never expected to see him again after what happened at Malfoy Manor. He stood on the sidelines and watched as his aunt tortured her for information. His presence always used to be enough to cause her to shake with anger, but now she couldn't care much less.

Malfoy's mouth lifted into a smirk when he saw her. "It's unfortunate that they decided to keep letting mudbloods into the stores, let alone back into Hogwarts this year…"

"Isn't it just?" Hermione asked, with mock disgust. She turned away from him and moved to look at different shelf of books. She hoped that he had nowhere to go with that, and would just shut up.

"What? No hexes? Or slaps?"

"Not today, Malfoy. I'm choosing to pretend your physical being doesn't exist. Now if only that snarky little voice of yours would get of my head, I could forget you altogether." Hermione's annoyance with him showed in her voice. She thought she had successfully avoided being bothered while she browsed for books when she got rid of the boys.

"Where are your bodyguards? Are they embarrassed to be seen with a mudblood?" Malfoy asked with a sneer, clearly referring to Harry and Ron. He continued following her all the way to the section on human transfiguration.

"Aren't you, you moron? If you don't stop following me, people are going to think you're staring at my filthy mudblood arse."

"Such language, Granger. Sounds and looks like you've changed a bit," he said with an even bigger smirk, as he eyed her up and down, "and not for the better."

Hermione realized her appearance had done nothing but go downhill since the beginning of the war. She had not been particularly gorgeous to begin with, but there was a softness to her that some admired. Her face had lost all of the innocent, wide-eyed curiosity it once held, and her body had lost all its soft curvature and hardened into a slim, toned figure.

"Sounds and looks like you haven't." She turned and looked him up and down, not realizing how close behind her he had been. She was shocked to look into his face and see something different from the terrified little boy he once was. He looked hardened, too. And much bigger. And much more attractive. There was something in his eyes she didn't recognize, something that she didn't like. As these thoughts raced through her mind, she maintained her calm, analytical composure. "Yep, just the same stupid, little prat you've always been. Now, if you don't mind, I'm trying to look at books here. In peace." She pushed past him, bumping into his arm as she went by. She turned back to look at him and saw him frowning, probably surprised that he didn't get the rise out of her he was expecting to.

Later, when she met back up with the boys, she decided not to tell them about her encounter with Malfoy. He had always been a sore spot with Ron, particularly after all that happened in the manor. Like Hermione, Harry could see that Malfoy had just been a scared, young boy pushed by his family into doing what he did, as well as a very poor decision maker, but that didn't mean he disliked him any less. T

They arrived back at the Burrow in the evening, just in time for dinner. Everyone looked happy as they ate and talked animatedly about their return to Hogwarts. Looking next to her at Harry and Ginny she realized why Harry was coming back to Hogwarts. He was so in love with that girl, and she him. Hermione wondered why she couldn't feel this way with Ron, and turned to look at him while he stuffed his face. It was disgusting to see, but endearing at the same time.

Feeling an elbow jab lightly into her side, Hermione turned to face Harry, who had a grin on his face. He whispered to her, "Try to keep it down tonight, will you?"

"Oh, fuck off, Harry," Hermione said quietly, with a small laugh, "It's not like we don't hear you sneaking into Ginny's room every damn night." Harry's grin faltered. "Oh, don't worry, Ron's oblivious. Just can't seem to wrap his head around his little sister having sex." Harry blushed this time, at her blunt way of putting it, with a grin back on his face.

Harry and Hermione had always had a great friendship full of mutual understanding. He had become her main support starting around fourth year, when the Lavender incident occurred. She had not expected him to be by her side during that, but was pleased to have him there. She could tell him anything. And she often did. She didn't really get along with other girls her age to begin with, and she doubted she would fare any better in the girls' dormitory this year. A lot of girls were jealous of her because of her closeness with Harry, many mistaking their relationship for a romantic one. The others just couldn't understand her, and the feeling was mutual. She just couldn't grasp their fascination for boys and makeup.

"Be careful, though, Harry. If Arthur or either of the twins catch you, you might lose your ability to provide children." Harry laughed nervously.

Ginny was one of the few girls Hermione could almost see eye to eye with. While Ginny liked shopping, and dresses and all that shit, she was still a rational, down to earth girl. Hermione could hardly imagine how she dealt with being stuck on the sidelines during the war. Things were a little tense between the two girls when the war was over. Hermione couldn't understand Ginny's concerns with how long she and Harry were living alone in small quarters during Ron's absence. Harry talked to her, however, and cleared everything up. Ginny was the closest thing to a female friend she'd ever had.

After dinner, Ron grabbed Hermione by the hand and dragged her upstairs to his room. He shut the door behind them. He embraced her and kissed her passionately. When he pulled away, Hermione had to resist wiping her mouth clean of his saliva as to not hurt his feelings. She just did not understand how someone could have quite so much spit. And did he really have to share it?

Ron sat down on the bed and summoned her over, patting the spot next to him. He looked nervous, which in turn, was making Hermione very nervous.

"Hermione… can we talk?"

"Of course," she replied, with a smile.

"So, back to school tomorrow…" Hermione noticed the small grimace on his face.

"You know that you don't have to go back if you don't want to, don't you?"

"I want to. Don't worry. I want to be with you. That's… what I wanted to talk about, actually. I was going to wait until after this year, but I was talking to Harry, and since I already have it..." Ron pushed a hand into his pocket and pulled out a small box.

"Oh, shit." Hermione slapped a hand over her mouth when she realized what she let slip out. Ron must have taken her dismay as excitement, and didn't falter as he opened the box in front of her.

"I know we're young, but I also know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me, Hermione?" Ron was beaming at her.

"Oh shit," she muttered under her breath again, "Oh, Ronald. I just… I…" Hermione, for once in her life, was lost for words. The smile on Ron's face disappeared.

"I thought you wanted this too…" He sounded so confused.

"I'm just not ready for this yet, Ron. I'm so, so sorry. I just can't." She could see Ron's sadness slowly turning to anger, as she expected.

"I thought you loved me, Hermione. Apparently not like I love you."

"I do love you, Ron. Please… please don't be mad," she pleaded with him. She grabbed for his hand, but he quickly pulled it away and turned from her. She knew she had hurt him. She saw the tears in his eyes before he turned away. She also knew there was nothing else she could do.

She turned when she reached the door. "I'm sorry."

"Just get out."


	3. Painful Memories

**A/N**: I was really surprised by how many hits/visitors I've had to my story so far. It inspired me to write another chapter. I thought about waiting a week to post it, like all the other authors seem to do, but I'm too anxious. Let me know if it's something worth continuing, or if I shouldn't really bother. I still don't have much of a major plot idea in my head. I'm hoping it will unravel as I write. Let me know if you want me to keep writing. If so, I'll try to get something posted by the end of this week. A single review would probably be enough inspiration at this point! :D Thanks for reading!

**WARNING**: Contains an almost rape scene. Don't read it if you don't like it. It's pretty obvious when it starts, and it goes until the end of the chapter, so feel free to skip it if that kind of thing bothers you. The details shouldn't be horribly relevant to the rest of the story.

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing but the plot, or lack thereof.

Hermione went to bed that night with feelings of relief. Although, her relief concerned her. Shouldn't be feeling sad and disappointed? Or at least angry? It just felt so good to sleep in her own bed. Alone. No worries about pretending to orgasm.

She wondered if this was the end of her relationship, or if Ron would decide to forgive her for refusing his proposal. She doubted he would stay angry. She found herself hoping that he would, though. She laid in bed for quite some time willing herself to have the proper feelings.

Hermione tensed and reached for her wand as she heard a knock on the door. It was an automatic reflex. Another one of those little things she can thank the war for.

"It's me," she heard Harry's voice through the door.

Stowing her wand away, she invited him in.

"So, what happened?" Harry asked, taking a seat on the foot of her bed.

"He didn't tell you?"

"No, he just told me to go away when I knocked on his door. I was going to ask him if he wanted to play some quidditch before it gets dark out. I came straight here after."

"Ugh, why couldn't he have just told you?" Hermione groaned, covering face with her pillow, hoping that this would somehow help make the soon-to-come awkward conversation go away.

"So…?"

"HeaskedmetomarryhimandIsaidno." The words flew from Hermione's mouth in one breath.

"Oh, shit. He said he was going to do it sooner than planned. I told him it was a good idea. I didn't think he would be doing it quite this soon."

"This is all your fault!" Hermione said, throwing her pillow at Harry. He knew she wasn't being serious, but he couldn't help but feel she was right.

"Well, why did you say no?"

"I'm not ready to get married yet… or anytime soon. Or to him." She smacked her forehead when she realized she said that last bit out loud. Only Harry could get her to speak so candidly.

If Harry was surprised by this information, he didn't show it. "Do you still love him?"

"Yes. Well, I think so. I don't know…" Hermione sighed.

"The sex is that bad?" Harry asked, trying to make a joke. But when Hermione's eyes widened, he realized there was some truth to it. "Oh shit, Hermione. Am I right?"

"Partly. It's not just that, really. We don't have anything in common. I think we just got together because everyone expected it, and it just seemed right, and we both needed comfort after everything that's happened."

"You know that's not why he's with you, Hermione. He really loves you." He wasn't saying this to hurt her. He was just always honest with her. When it came to anything.

"I know."

"You were right to say no."

"I know."

"Are you guys still together?"

"I have no idea. Do you think he'll forgive me?"

"He probably will. But is it right for you to get back together for him when you don't feel the same way about him as he does about you?"

"I don't know, Harry. What should I do?"

"It's your decision to make, Hermione. You need to decide how you feel. And maybe invest in a vibrator if you decide to get back together with him…" Harry joked. Hermione couldn't help but laugh. Her laughter died away and it was quiet.

"Shit. I don't know if I can make this decision. If I end it, it might ruin our friendship."

"We both know it will. You know how Ron holds grudges. He still won't have as much as a civil conversation with a single Slytherin. And he probably never will, even fifty years out of school."

"Why couldn't I have just fallen in love with you. From the sounds of it, you're really good in bed." Harry blushed at Hermione's bold comment, even knowing it was a joke. The things that came out of her mouth sometimes would have been enough to send the old, innocent Hermione into a blushing, babbling mess.

"I should probably start using muffliato, huh?"

"Uh huh…" she said with a roll of her eyes. Harry grinned sheepishly.

"Well, it looks like you have a big decision to make. And you should probably do it before tomorrow. It's going to be a long train ride if things go unresolved."

"Will you hate me if I temporarily destroy the golden trio?"

"Yes."

"Harry…"

"You know I couldn't hate you. I can still be friends with both of you, no matter what you decide."

"Thanks, Harry." Hermione pulled him into a hug. "I suppose I'll go talk to him now."

"Good idea."

"Don't forget – muffliato," Hermione said, with a grin, as she waved her wand.

Hermione knocked on Ron's door and heard the "Go away," she was expecting.

"It's Hermione." She heard him sign through the door and slowly get up to open it. His eyes looked red. "Can we talk?" she asked him. He just nodded and let her in. She sat down on his bed, biting her lip. She wasn't quite sure how to do this. She didn't think it out ahead of time, because she knew she would chicken out if she did.

Ron sat down next to her and looked at her expectantly. She wrung her hands. "I'm not really sure how to say this…"

Ron pulled her into a hug. "I know you're sorry, 'Mione. I am too. I shouldn't have gotten so angry with you. I just… wasn't expecting you to say no. I'm willing to wait."

She found herself completely unable to break up with him, as usual. She should have seen this coming.

Ron pulled back and kissed her. One hand was tangled in her hair, and the other began to snake up her shirt. Hermione thought that maybe she could learn to love him like he loved her. Maybe she could even learn to enjoy the sex. She was willing to try, if he was willing to wait for her to marry him.

He slowly kissed his way down her throat, leaving a trail of saliva, as he tugged at the bottom of her shirt. She pulled away and lifted her arms to let him pull it off. She knew the protocol. He then pulled his shirt off and he was back to kissing her throat. He kissed his way down to the swell of her small breasts and reached back to unclasp her bra. As usual, he couldn't get it, so she reached back to help him, letting her bra fall into her lap. His hands became glued to her breasts as he palmed them gracelessly.

His hands made their way down her stomach to unbutton her pants. He, as usual, proceeded to unbuckle his belt and unbutton his own pants. He stood up and removed his pants and boxers and pulled Hermione up by her hand the remove the rest of her clothing.

Nothing changed in the way he led her back to the bed and gently pushed her down. She spread her legs so he could lay between them and kiss her before he pushed into her with a shudder. She was disappointed even though she knew exactly what was to come. No foreplay. No teasing. Nothing. Ron was anything but adventurous.

Within a few minutes it was over and Ron lay on top of her panting.

At least it was faster than earlier, Hermione thought resignedly.

"I knew makeup sex would be good," Ron muttered, as he rolled off her. Did he expect her to laugh at that? Was that supposed to be funny?

Hermione began to feel unexplainable rage. This could not be good. She pulled away from him and stood up.

"Makeup sex? Really? Are you fucking kidding me? Is that the only reason you decided to forgive me? And for what? For not being ready to get fucking married at the ripe old age of eighteen?"

Ron looked at her, startled and confused. "What did I do?"

Hermione sat back down and tried to calm down. "I apologize for my outburst, Ron, but I just don't think I can do this anymore."

"I- I told we don't have to get engaged. Don't worry. I don't mind. Please stay with me, Hermione…" he pleaded.

"Please don't make this any more difficult than it already is. You were right. I don't love you like you love me. I love you like a friend. And that's it. I don't want this to ruin our friendship – "

Ron, once again angry, cut her off, "You think we could actually be just friends after all of this? You think that I could be just friends with you? How can I look at you every day wanting something more, knowing that you don't?"

Hermione sighed, nearly tearing up. "I don't want to lose you, Ron."

"No, Hermione, that's exactly what you want. That's exactly what you're doing right now. You've ruined us."

"I'm sorry, Ron.."

"I've heard enough of that bullshit tonight. Quit apologizing. You're not sorry. I don't mean a damn thing to you. You've made that pretty clear."

"I still care about you, Ron. You must know that."

"Don't think I haven't noticed the way you look at me. And then the adoring way you look at Harry. He's the reason you're doing this, isn't he?"

"What? Are you serious? You should know by now that there's nothing going on between me and Harry."

"JUST SHUT UP! I know you're lying to me. You have been from the very start. Probably just sticking around for the sex. Who knows who else you've slept with."

Hermione knew Ron had a tendency to say stupid things when he was mad, but he had gone too far.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Hermione practically growled. `

"Oh gods, don't pretend you haven't done your share of whoring around. Hell, you probably egged on those Death Eaters."

At first Hermione was confused. Then she literally became sick. She couldn't even imagine that he would bring this up, let alone use it against her in an argument.

"You think I wanted that? You think I wanted them to try to rape me? You disgust me, Ron."

"You probably fucked Harry after he saved you, too, you stupid whore." Ron looked blind with rage. Hermione was at a loss. How could he even claim that he loved her?

"When you wake up in the morning and regret this, don't bother coming to me to apologize. I never want to see you again. Oh and don't worry, I won't tell Harry about this. As much as you deserve it, I won't take your best, oh wait, I mean only, friend away from you. Go fuck yourself, Ronald."

Hermione apparated to her room, not bothering to get dressed. Hermione collapsed onto her bed, naked, and curled into a ball. She didn't even have it in her to cry. She never believed that he could do this to her. Her mind took her back to that night she had finally had started to let go of.

They were camped out in a forest somewhere in their search for Voldemort's horcruxes. It had been her turn to find dinner that evening. Ron was sick and Harry stayed behind to keep watch on the tent. She had taken the invisibility cloak with her and was hiding under it while she was picking berries from a patch she found. She spun around and grabbed her wand as she heard a noise behind her. When she turned, the cloak got caught on a bramble and exposed the bottom half of her calf and foot. Not noticing this, Hermione tried to remain still and quiet, as to not draw attention to herself.

There was a flash of light and she was immobilized. The cloak slipped off and she lay there fully exposed as a group of two Death Eaters and two snatchers came out.

"I told you they were hiding around here somewhere," one of the snatchers yelled excitedly. He was a sickly skinny man with crossed eyes.

"Shut up, you insolent fool," the larger of the masked Death Eaters hissed. "We don't want to alert the boy just yet."

"They must have sent the filthy little mudblood out to do a muggle woman's job," the other Death Eater said with a snicker. Hermione recognized the voice, but couldn't place it.

"Now," the other Death Eater began, turning to Hermione, "we need some information, you filthy little girl. You will cooperate if we remove the spell, correct?" Hermione had no way to respond. If she had, she would have told them to go fuck themselves. He took away her wand and removed the immobilizing spell. Hermione didn't move at first. She just looked around for an escape route.

"Get her on her knees," the larger Death Eater commanded the snatchers. They grabbed her up roughly by her elbows and tried to force her to her knees. Needless to say, she was uncooperative.

"Get on your knees where you belong you filthy mudblood." Hermione spat in his face. "You will bow down to us with the respect we deserve. _Imperio_." Her body worked against her will and she was down on her knees.

"Bow to us." She bent over at the hips and planted her face into the ground. A heavy boot forced her head to the side and held her head down. She felt the unforgivable curse lifted and she immediately began to struggle. She couldn't move her head, however, and the snatchers were now tying her wrists behind her back. She managed to get a punch to the face of the short, fat snatcher – the one she deemed to be the weakest of the group. She felt extreme satisfaction at his yelp, but when he growled and grabbed her forearm between his two hands and snapped both of the bones over his knee, she cried out in agony. The other snatchers' foot connected with her ribcage and she moaned. The group of men snickered at her pain and the fat man roughly continued tying her wrists together.

"Now, you are going to tell us where your little camp is hiding. We won't let our snatchers here have quite as much fun with you if you tell us quickly. Otherwise, who knows how far we'll let them go…"

Hermione tried to pull her focus away from her throbbing arm, and between clenched teeth growled, "You can just kill me now. I won't tell you anything."

"Have it your way, then." She heard his whisper something and with a wave of his wand, vines grew out of the ground and wrapped around her neck, holding her down. They were tight enough to restrict her air supply slightly, but not cut it off entirely. Vines also wrapped just behind her knees, holding her in a position with her arse in the air and her face planted into the ground. She could see the Death Eaters standing off to the side, watching the snatchers go to work on her.

"She's a pretty little mudblood, isn't she?" The voice belonged to the skinnier snatcher. He could sense them both standing behind her. She felt extremely vulnerable in her position. She cringed as she felt their hands on her thighs and arse and torso. Cool air hit her body as they removed her shirt with what she guessed was a well-practiced spell in their arsenal. She felt sick as she thought about how many others this had likely happened to.

"You should eat more. It might make your tits and arse fill out a little more," the fat one said, with a snigger.

"You would know you disgusting fatarse," Hermione responded with venom.

"Oh, we'll have to do something about that dirty little mouth, won't we? _Silencio_," she heard from where the Death Eaters stood. She knew she wouldn't be able to make a sound now.

She now felt the cool air on her thighs, and realized they had removed her pants. Tears began to escape from her eyes. She knew what would soon be coming.

"Are you ready to talk yet, mudblood?" The silencing charm was removed.

"Go fuck yourselves."

With a click of his tongue, the charm was replaced and the snatchers were once again allowed to have their way with her. The rest of her clothes were removed, and she was grateful for the time they spent admiring her naked body. She was disgusted, but at least it postponed the seemingly inevitable.

"She's probably all hot and ready for us. I bet that dirty little mudblood c-"

Something had cut off the snatcher's obscene comment.

"Hermione?" Harry asked, sounding alarmed. He was immediately at her side, removing the vines. He pulled her up off the ground and into his arms. "Are you okay?" He removed the silencing charm after he realized she was unable to respond. Even after he did, she couldn't. She only sobbed in relief, as she clutched Harry's back for dear life.

Harry let Hermione cry until she calmed down, and then pulled off his cloak and wrapped it around her naked body. "_Accio invisibility cloak._" Hermione looked around and saw the four men laying on ground, either unconscious or dead.

"Are you okay? Did they…" Hermione shook her head, knowing what Harry was asking.

"You came just in time, " she whispered, as the sobs overcame her body again.

Harry pulled Hermione up and covered them with the invisibility cloak, and slowly walked her back to the tent. She stopped Harry outside the entrance, and backed away.

"I don't want to…"

"Hermione, it's okay. You're safe now."

"But Ron…"

"Ron will only be happy that you're okay. He won't think any less of you."

Oh, how wrong Harry was about that, Hermione thought, pulling herself out of the painful memories.


	4. Revenge

**A/N:** So, this chapter's a little bit short, but I put quite a bit of effort in. I think my writing is improving a bit. I want to thank NazChick for being my first and only reviewer. You're the reason I got this chapter up today! I don't have anything else written yet. I've had quite a few hits on this story, but nothing telling me whether anyone's actually enjoying it. This chapter has more Draco in it - mean Draco. Just the way I like him. Thanks for reading.

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing but the plot, or lack thereof.

When Hermione arrived on Platform 9 ¾ she looked around for familiar faces. So many were missing. Upon seeing Neville Longbottom waving at her, she perked up and came out of her sad daze.

She told Harry that she had gone through with the break up, sparing the details as she said she would, so she thought it might be a good idea for her to go to the platform separately. Harry didn't like the idea of her sitting by herself, or having to find someone else to sit with, but in the end, they both agreed it would be for the best. Ron would be oh so broken-hearted and need the comfort of friends, after all. The bastard.

At breakfast that morning, Ron kept glancing at her nervously. She took great care in seating herself as far from him as possible, but maintained glaring range. He didn't say a word to her, and she liked it that way. She doubted that she could never forgive him after the things he said.

"Hi Hermione," Neville said, smiling at her brightly, "Where are Ron and Harry? Aren't the three of you supposed to be joined at the hip?"

"Oh, they're just running late as usual," she replied, with a dismissive wave of the hand. She didn't feel like explaining the current situation to anyone. She would leave all that to Ron.

"Well, tell them I said hi when you see them. I have to go find Luna. Maybe we'll come sit with you guys later so we can all catch up. It was great to see you again."

"You too, Neville. Take care," she said, smiling at him warmly. She had always liked Neville. It was too bad he wasn't more of a looker. He was such a sweet guy. Luna was extremely lucky to have him.

Hermione boarded the enormous red train and searched for an empty compartment. She entered the first one that she found. Once she settled in, she pulled out her Ancient Runes textbook and got a head start on the reading. It couldn't hurt. She had the free time now, and it would be less she would have to do later.

She had only gotten through the first three paragraphs when the compartment door slid open. None other than Draco Malfoy stood in the entrance, with his posse behind him. He had a smirk plastered on his face.

"Room for a few more, mudblood?" Malfoy asked, already knowing the answer.

"No. I'm saving these seats," Hermione said, hardly looking up at him.

"Well, I know the last two thirds of the Golden Trio aren't joining you. I already saw them grab a different compartment with a couple of other Gryffindor girls. You haven't already been replaced, have you? Can't blame them for being embarrassed to be seen with a mudblood." She felt a jolt at his mention of the girls. Surely Ron wouldn't already be considering new options?

"Shut up, Malfoy," Hermione replied, with a glare. She was dealing with enough shit without his input.

"Oh, hit a sore spot, I see. You must be a really shitty lay if the Weasel's replacing you _again_. You do remember fourth year, don't you?" Quiet laughter came from behind him.

"No, Malfoy, if you must know I dumped his stupid arse." Hermione wondered what compelled her to share this information.

"Did you, now? Because he had already replaced you - because you suck in bed, right? Or was it because he finally realized he was sick of getting your mudblood filth all over him and wanted something a little more… pure?"

"Oh, fuck you. You wouldn't know what a good lay is if it was shoved up your arsehole. Your dick probably fell off years ago from all the nasty disease you're surely carrying with all the skanks I'm sure you've been with." Hermione looked at Pansy Parkinson pointedly. Pansy looked appalled.

Malfoy glared at her. "You think you know everything, don't you, Granger?"

"I know a hell of a lot more than you ever will."

"Bullshit. You don't know a damn thing. No wonder the Weasel's fucking replaced you already – you're a cold-hearted, prudish bitch. You're going to die alone with nothing but your stupid cat to keep you company."

"My cat will be a lot more company than you're going to have," Hermione said, standing up and taking a step toward him. "Your friends don't even fucking like you. They're here because they're afraid of you. That won't last forever. Eventually, they'll see you for the stupid, little coward you always have been. The Death Eater who couldn't even kill a man." They both knew she was referring to Dumbledore.

Draco practically growled as he took a step closer to her, now looking down on her. "I've killed more filthy mudbloods and muggles than you can even imagine," he said, quietly, but harshly, not taking his eyes off of hers.

"No, you watched your dad kill a bunch of innocent, defenseless people while you hid behind him, scared." Hermione glared up at him, realizing just how much taller than her he was. She had one hand on her wand at this point, as he did with his.

As he stepped toward her, she stepped back, wanting to maintain some space between them, but she eventually hit the wall. She looked and saw he closed the compartment door behind him on his friends. No more witnesses.

"Say one more word about my father. I dare you," he said, with such venom she was sure he was capable of hurting her. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to back down. She had too much pent up anger.

"Your father is a completely useless excuse for a man and deserves to rot in Azkaban for all he's done. Just like your whole fam – " Malfoy cut her off by wrapping his hand tightly around her throat. Hermione couldn't breathe. In her surprise, he was able to grab her wand and drop it to the floor behind him.

"You stupid little mudblood, you just don't when to shut your filthy little mouth, do you? I'm going to make you regret the day you were born. Not that you shouldn't already, with your unclean blood." His hand squeezed tighter. Hermione was beginning to see speckles of light dance before her eyes when suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Hermione, you in there?" It was Harry to the rescue, once again. Malfoy let go of her throat, but replaced his hand with his wand.

"Tell him to hold on a minute." Not knowing what else to do, and really not wanting Harry involved in this, she did. Malfoy quickly undid the top few buttons of his shirt. He ripped the top half of Hermione's open and then reached to mess up her hair. Her simple black bra was openly on display and she was out of breath. Hermione opened her mouth in protest when she realized what he was doing, but he already turned and was opening the compartment door.

"What are you doing in here?" Harry asked Malfoy as he pushed his way past Harry and out the door. He was already gone when Harry looked into the compartment and saw Hermione in her current state. "What the hell is going on here?" Harry asked, in shock.

"I – It's n-not what it looks like, Harry, I swear…" Hermione stammered, still trying to catch her breath.

"Like hell it's not. At least now I can see why you broke up with Ron. And why he called you a whore." Hermione recoiled at his words. She knew this looked bad, but how could he be so harsh? Why didn't he believe her? "What is going on with you, Hermione?" Harry asked, the anger gone from his face now. He looked up at her sadly and shook his head as he turned to leave the compartment.

Hermione sat down with her face in her hands and just cried, knowing that she would be alone for the rest of the train ride, at least. She couldn't stand to see Harry so disappointed in her. Slowly her tears of sadness turned into tears of rage as anger bubbled up in her. Malfoy knew exactly what would happen. He had said she would regret it, and he knew exactly where to hit her to make it really hurt. She should have known better than to push his buttons, but she just couldn't help herself. It was so easy, and so, so satisfying. Especially when she could wipe that stupid little smirk right off his face.

Already she found herself formulating a plan for revenge. She would get back at him, and she thought she knew just how to do it.

As Hermione marched her way down the hall to the usual Malfoy and posse compartment, she hiked up her skirt, and made sure Malfoy's handy work was still on display. She fluffed up her hair one more time, and slid open the compartment door.

"Oh, Drakey, don't you want to finish what you started?" Hermione asked in the girliest voice she could muster, while toying with the open portion of her shirt, "I know Harry walked in on us, but no need to worry. He's done it, too." She winked at him and giggled. She thought she might make herself sick.

Malfoy looked positively livid. She knew that this would get to him. The Slytherin Prince couldn't have his friends thinking he was sleeping with a filthy Gryffindor mudblood.

Hermione clicked her tongue. "No? Well, I have a few better things to do anyway. We'll see _a lot_ more each other later, I'm sure. See you." She blew a little kiss his way. She could practically feel the anger radiating off of him now. And not only had she pissed off Draco, but Pansy looked irate. Hermione "mudblood" Granger had not only just snogged _the_ Draco Malfoy, but she blew him off, as well. At least, that's how it would look to everyone in the compartment.

Hermione smirked in triumph as she closed the compartment door, but when she turned to make her way back to her own compartment she saw a horrified Ron staring at her, wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

"So it's true then, what Harry said? You really are the slut I thought you were."

Wanting to hurt him however she could at this point, Hermione retorted, "Yeah, I guess am. I had to get my thrills somewhere, didn't I? I sure as hell didn't get any from you." She stormed past him and into her compartment where she slammed the door shut.

Well, she had lost her boyfriend and her best friend and destroyed her reputation in a matter of 24 hours. Although, credit must be given where credit is due – Malfoy had definitely had a hand in this. This would not be the last of her revenge. She was going to put him through hell.


	5. More Conflict

**A/N:** I want to give a super special thanks to hottopicgirl, NazChick (again), and KraZiiePyrozHavemoreFun for the reviews. Also, thanks to everyone who has added me to their story alerts and/or favorites list. You guys were my inspiration to get another chapter up. This one might be a little boring, and it's short, as most of my chapters seem to be, but I thought it was good for establishing character relationships and blah blah blah, all that stuff that's supposed to be important. Also, more conflict. Always fun. Thanks for reading!

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing but the plot, or lack thereof.

Hermione made her way to the entrance of Hogwarts. For the first time ever, she was doing it alone. No one sat with her in her carriage. No one walked through the doors with her. She never thought she could miss the sounds of Ron and Harry talking animatedly about quidditch or how they were going to kick some Slytherin arse this year.

As she walked into the Great Hall, she wondered who she would sit with. In the past, there had never been any question about it. In her first year, everyone was welcoming. Everyone wanted company and to meet new people. From second year on, it was easy – she sat with Harry and Ron, no questions asked.

A smile lit up on her face as she saw Neville waving her over. Thank gods for him. Reliable Neville. Although, as soon as the awkward silence crept up, she knew Neville had heard all about what had happened on the train. Although, with the way news travelled around Hogwarts, who knew what he could have heard. Looking around, she realized everyone had. People quickly looked away when she looked in their direction. And maybe it was paranoia, but she couldn't help but feel people were whispering about her. She looked down and sighed in relief when she remembered that yes, she did repair her shirt and return it to a more appropriate state.

As more Gryffindors filed in, including Harry, Ron and Ginny, she could feel glares from all directions. She also spotted Malfoy looking her way, staring daggers at her, but with a hint of a smirk on his face. He was obviously seeing the reaction of the rest of the student body. She noticed that very little of the attention was on him.

Not willing to show Malfoy that he had gotten to her, she struck up conversation with Neville and Luna.

"So what did you two do over the summer?"

"Celebrate, of course!" Neville said, with a goofy grin on his face. He had to be the most enthusiastic "Voldemort is dead" celebrator she knew. Even now, months later, he was practically trembling with excitement.

"We backpacked through Europe in search of the elusive crumple-horned snorcack. Unfortunately, we didn't find a single one. But we did see some beautiful scenery" Luna looked stumped in a rather lazy way. Neville just looked at Hermione and shrugged. Hermione had to suppress a laugh at the dynamic of their relationship. They were two of the kindest-hearted people she knew, and they were obviously made for each other. Hermione knew she could never be with someone like that, let alone be someone like that herself. Not anymore, anyway.

"Well, that sounds great. Where all did you go?"

As Neville recounted their experiences Hermione tried to listen, but kept getting drawn away from their conversation by whispers that sounded far too much like they contained "Hermione" and "slut" in the same sentence. These whispers were coming from Harry and Ron's direction.

"Excuse me, Neville, for just one second," Hermione interrupted politely, before turning in the direction of the boys. "If anyone here has something to say about me, why don't they grow a pair and actually say it to my face." Hermione managed to maintain a calm exterior, even though her insides were boiling. She had already experienced this with Ron once, in first year, but this year she wouldn't be running off to the bathroom crying. Not a chance.

Harry suddenly looked very interested in whatever was going on in the lines of the table, as he blushed furiously. Ron, however, looked over at her, face red, but not with embarrassment. "Well, we were just telling everyone here what you're really like, so they don't fall for your bullshit like I did." Seamus, Dean, and Ginny looked at him in surprise.

"Oh, Ronald, but from what I can recall you _loved _my bullshit. All five minutes of it that you could handle." Ron's jaw dropped at her comment, and now his blush turned to one of embarrassment. Hermione opened her mouth to continue, but quickly closed it seeing that Professor McGonagall was present and had probably already caught the last portion of conversation.

"As much as I hate to interfere in this feud between lovers, would Miss Granger and Mister Weasley please accompany me to the hallway." Hermione and Ron followed McGonagall as she led them out the doors and through the gaggle of shivering first years. They all looked on with wide, frightened eyes. She was sure she and Ron were recognized – they were iconic war heroes, after all.

"What is the meaning of this, you two?" Professor McGonagall demanded, turning to them. When neither had an answer, she continued. "Our war heroes should be a good influence on our newcomers. We need to express unity in this school, especially right now after such trying times. If the two of you can't straighten this out on your own, I will have to give you both detention. Together. Until you can resolve your issues. I will let you off this time. Don't make any more scenes. Please return to the Hall and try to keep it together until you are behind closed doors."

She strode back to the Great Hall, leaving them there alone. Ron looked at her as if he wanted to say something, but Hermione followed McGonagall without so much as a second look back. When she reached the door, however, she turned to Ron, who was trailing not too far behind her. "Next time you decide to talk about someone behind their back, make sure they're not in earshot, you dumbarse." Feeling satisfied that she thoroughly embarrassed him in front of the first years, she went into the Great Hall, and took her seat next to Neville.

The remainder of the evening's ceremony was spent in awkward silence. She didn't dare so much as look at Ron the wrong with way with McGonagall on the watch. No way in hell was she about to be stuck in detention with him for any length of time. Neville wouldn't stop looking at her, slightly in awe. Luna, of course, remained oblivious and continued conversation with Hermione about more pressing matters such as wrackspurts and blibbering humdingers.

Later than night, when Hermione was lying in bed trying to sleep, the rest of her roommates were up giggling and talking about who's looking particularly cute this year. Hermione rolled over, stuffing a pillow over face. Hermione just couldn't understand it. Then again, these girls didn't play much of a part in the war, so, lucky for them, their lives mostly went unchanged. This was why she'd always spent so much time in the library – it wasn't always just about studying. Even better grades were a positive side effect.

Hermione wasn't surprised in the least when she began to hear talk about Harry and Ron, and even herself. She tried to keep her breathing loud and even, so they would think she's asleep. She wanted to hear a bit about what they had to say.

"Harry's looking as good as ever, this year…" she heard, coming from one of the Patil twins.

"We all know you could still go for a little bit of redhead though, Lavender," the other twin said with a giggle. "He's single again, I hear…"

"Shh, she's right there," Lavender whispered even louder than the other girls. Hermione couldn't help but think what a moron she was.

"Oh, she's sleeping. She's practically snoring." Hermione was dying to tell her that maybe she should hear a recording of the sounds she makes when she's sleeping. She was pretty sure it was Padma who was talking. "Did you hear what happened earlier on the train?"

"Yes! Can you believe she is sleeping with Malfoy? What a traitor, right?"

"I don't know if I buy it…" Lavender said slowly, "Why would Malfoy ever sleep with her? I mean, have you seen her lately? It's called a hair brush…" All the girls snickered. "And I hate to say it, but Malfoy is undeniably gorgeous." The others murmured in reluctant agreement. "I never could see what Ron saw in her in the first place."

"Well, it doesn't matter. He can see what she's really like now. He's all yours. And I might have to have a go at Harry if Ginny ever backs off."

Ginny had been fortunate enough to get Head Girl this, year. Hermione felt a stab of jealousy at her friend getting to have her own room. Then, sadness overcame her when she realized "her friend" was no longer a fitting description of their relationship.

As the girls finally quieted down, Hermione found herself still unable to sleep. She couldn't get her mind off of Malfoy. As she reached up to touch her tender neck, where bruises had surely already formed, she knew revenge would be too, too sweet, and she was much too excited to sleep. There were so many ideas flying around her in her head. She wasn't even sure where she should begin. Should she try to get him expelled? Should she pursue the whole destroying his social life thing? Or should she just hex the shit out of him, to hell with the consequences!

She knew she was much too angry to start anything too soon. She needed to calm down and collect her thoughts. She wasn't about to do this half-arsed. She was Hermione fucking Granger. This would be complete and thorough revenge.

Hermione sat up in bed and fumbled around until she found her wand, some paper, and a quill.

"_Lumos." _Her wand illuminated her immediate surroundings. Putting her wand between her teeth, she began to write. Or scribble, really. Thoughts were coming to her too quickly, and her hand raced to keep up with her mind.

After a good half hour she put down the quill with a sigh of contentment. Finally, she felt could sleep. She carefully hid her jumbled list of revenge plots under her mattress and stowed away her wand and quill. In the morning she could review her list and do a bit of revision. And decide what was actually feasible. She wasn't entirely sure she could get her hands on a chimaera, although, with Hagrid's help, she might be able to find one...

Hermione drifted off to sleep, a smile half-formed on her lips, and had several dreams containing a Malfoy running for his dear little life.


	6. Something He Can't Take Away

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone for the continued support of my story so far. This is my longest chapter yet, so I hope you all enjoy it. More dialogue and more Malfoy in this one. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer**: I know nothing but the plot (which is actually starting to develop!).

**REVENGE**

1. Have him expelled

2. Eliminate his posse

3. Push him down the stairs

4. Make all his friends hate him

5. Make Pansy think she caught herpes from him

6. Morbidly disfigure his beautiful (this was crossed out several times) face

7. Sick a pissed off chimaera on him

8. Hide a blast-ended skrewt in his bed

9. Hex him into oblivion

10. Make everyone believe he's fallen for/sleeping with a mudblood

11. Make everyone believe he's a mudblood

12. Destroy him

13. Murder him

14. Take out a hit on him

15. Lock him in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and tell her that he's madly in love with her

16. Make him cry in front of the whole school

17. Use wrackspurts to make his brain go all fuzzy (thank you Luna) and stick him in the middle of the Forbidden Forest

18. Feed him to the giant squid

From there, the list really spun out of control containing situations involving mountain trolls and giants. Hermione couldn't help but laugh at herself the next morning, as she read through the list and crossed out the absolutely ridiculous ideas. She knew that some of her ideas were just a bit too harsh even to be used on Malfoy. Although, there were times when she felt completely justified.

Hermione sat alone at breakfast the next morning. It probably looked as if she was thinking deeply about how her first day of classes would go, but in reality, she was thinking about her first steps to getting revenge on Malfoy.

You see, this was the hard part. She had to figure out a way to get close enough to Malfoy in order to really cause some problems. Being the devious little mudblood she was, she had a few ideas.

Her first class was a Gryffindor/Slytherin class with Professor Slughorn, who came back to teach potions after the war. As Hermione entered the room, she felt several glares upon her, and she had no trouble glaring back. No problem there, she thought; she didn't want to sit by any of them anyway. Just as she had hoped, the seat next to Malfoy was open. She put on the most sickeningly sweet smile she could, and slipped into the chair at his table. He looked over at her in shock. As he was about to mouth his protest he was cut off by Professor Slughorn welcoming them to class. This was why she showed up just in time for class to begin. All had gone to plan.

Hermione looked around to see glares not only coming from the Gryffindor side of the room, but the Slytherin side as well. She was pretty sure that if Pansy were capable of any kind of masterful wandwork, she would have been torn to shreds by now. Although, it appeared as though Pansy had already replaced Malfoy with Blaise Zabini. Looks like part one of her plan had started without her. She hadn't expected the little act she put on on the train to be so successful.

Looking back over at the Gryffindor side, she saw Harry staring at her with a puzzled expression. She tried to look at him apologetically, but he just turned away, once again shaking his head in disappointment at her. Hermione felt her stomach drop a little, but she kept her mind on her plan.

Professor Slughorn went through the usual motions of beginning a new class: rules and guidelines, schedules for assignments, and finally seating arrangements. Hermione worried for a moment that her little plan would be crushed, but Slughorn looked around and decided that since they all looked comfortable already, he would just let this be the permanent arrangement. However, he eyed Hermione and Malfoy curiously.

Hermione had felt Malfoy's relief when Slughorn mentioned the seating arrangement, and then she saw him tense up all over again at the professor's last minute decision. She felt a wave of pleasure at her ability to affect him so easily. Maybe this would all be easier than she first thought.

As the class began to shuffle around, she realized that this was their cue to get to work. She had a moment of panic as she realized she'd missed the assignment while lost in her thoughts a moment ago.

She quickly glanced over to see what page Malfoy was flipping to, but she wasn't quick enough – he caught her.

"What? Too distracted by my wondrously good looks to even pay attention the professor? I'm afraid you're potions marks will slip if you can't stop getting all hot just over the sight of me." He had his usual Malfoy smirk on his face. Hermione was overjoyed to wipe it from his face.

"Oh yes, Draco. You'll have to help me out with my little problem _again_, later tonight." Hermione made sure she said this loud enough for his fellow Slytherins to hear. His smirk faltered, but didn't disappear.

"Can't get enough of me, can you, Granger? I told you it was just a one-time thing. Had to find out if the Weasel was right in replacing you or not. Turns out, he was. Also wanted to see if you were the little prude I always thought you were. Who knew you'd be so easy." Hermione glared at him, but refused to let him win.

"But that's not what you were saying after dinner last night. You know, when we were in that classroom together. You couldn't seem to keep your hands off of me. Even after I told you I didn't think you were quite my cup of tea."

Hermione knew she was overplaying her part, a little, but he was too, and she was just following suit.

"You need to get out of this little fantasyworld of yours, Granger. It's just not healthy to obsess over someone this way."

At this point, most of the classroom was gawking at them. Their conversation had escalated to a level easy to hear by the whole class. Professor Slughorn had even heard, unfortunately. Luckily, he didn't seem to have it in him to call them out on it.

"All right class, it's time to get to work," he announced timidly.

Hermione threw one last glare at Malfoy, who continued smirking at her, before getting up to grab their ingredients. Knowing that she would get everything, Malfoy just sat back and relaxed. Hermione looked back to see Blaise talking with him.

Pansy wasn't far behind Hermione, and bumped into her as she walked past.

"I knew he couldn't have actually _wanted _to sleep with a mudblood like you…" Hermione rolled her eyes at Pansy, who was obviously trying (and failing) to be intimidating. Hermione knew she could snap her like a twig without even getting her wand out.

Hermione brought the ingredients back to the table, and they silently began working on their potion, shooting the occasional glare at one another.

Hermione found herself doing the majority of the work. As she went to pour a very minute amount of a very acidic ingredient into their cauldron, Malfoy, being the bastard that he is, just had to make a comment.

"Don't fuck it up, mudblood." This put Hermione over the edge. She couldn't contain her anger anymore.

"You do know you guys lost the war, don't you? Or did you miss that whole thing where Harry sort of…killed Voldemort, and the vast majority of the wizarding world believes he was just spouting bullshit? So, would you just give it up on that fucking "mudblood" shit? It's getting old, anyway."

Hermione heard a "Hear, hear!" from behind her. Neville, of course.

"You should know – you saw it all from your hiding spot on the sidelines, right Malfoy?" She continued, knowing this would get a rise out of him.

"And you know that that doesn't make you any less of a filthy mudblood, don't you Granger?"

"And you know that that doesn't make you any less of an arsehole, don't you Malfoy?" Harry piped in from across the room. Hermione smiled a thank you at him, and he nodded back.

"Stay out of this, Scarhead. Let the little mudblood –"

"ENOUGH!" Everyone turned to Slughorn, startled. "I will not tolerate this sort of talk in my classroom. Granger, Malfoy, get to the Headmistress' office now. She will be expecting you." He conjured a patronus, which proceeded to run off in the direction of McGonagall's office.

"Aren't you sending me, too?" Harry asked, hopefully, obviously not wanting to leave Hermione alone with Malfoy.

"Oh no, Harry my boy, you were just sticking up for your friend. A noble cause that doesn't deserve punishment." It wasn't obvious who his favorite was or anything. Harry looked at Hermione apologetically. She didn't care; she was just happy to have her friend back.

Without a word, Malfoy and Hermione exited the classroom, knowing there was no argument to be made.

On the walk to McGonagall's office, Hermione couldn't resist opening her filthy little mudblood mouth.

"Why couldn't you have kept your damn mouth shut?" She asked Malfoy, sincerely – not just to piss him off. "We were working just fine before you said anything. Well, I was working just fine, anyway."

"Oh, just drop it, Granger. I'm sure your precious little grade will be just fine. Besides, looks like Scarhead's back to sticking up for you. Don't worry that pretty little head of yours."

"Aw, you think I'm pretty?" Hermione joked, knowing it was just an expression. He just glared at her. "And you really think I'm that worried about my grade? You're the problem. Not my fucking potions grade. I thought even you would be arrogant enough to have figured that out. Why did you have to ruin everything for me?"

"It wasn't your place to talk to me about the war. It's not your place to talk to me at all."

This was the closest thing to a civil conversation the two of them had ever had. Hermione couldn't help but think how sad that was, considering the content.

"You really believe that I'm below you? Just because my parents are muggles? Do you not pay attention to anything? Who's been the top of our class for the past six years of school? That was me, not you, remember? So what makes you think you're so much better than me?" Hermione had to stop to catch her breath.

"Are you done?"

"Yes."

"A few good grades doesn't prove anything. Anyone can read a book and wave their wand around. It takes a real wizard, a pureblooded wizard, to do real magic."

"You think dark magic is the only real magic? Magic that is formed through pure anger and hatred? That doesn't take skill, that just takes a complete lack of emotional control."

"What the fuck do you know about dark magic? Have you ever even seen the Dark Lord perform magic? It's all about control and power."

"Have you forgotten that _Voldemort _wasn't exactly a pureblood? Honestly, how could you even listen to the lies he spouted about blood purity and muggle inferiority? How could you even take him seriously?"

"You don't know anything, Granger."

"I certainly can't figure you out, Malfoy."

They had arrived at the headmistress' office. There were no longer gargoyles, nor was there a password to reach her door. Hermione was overcome with sadness as she remembered Dumbledore was really gone. Sometimes it just felt like he was on vacation. Just temporarily absent.

Hermione took the initiative and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Looking around, she never would have guessed that this had been Dumbledore's office. All the shelves and cabinets full of trinkets had been replaced with bookshelves filled with volumes and volumes of various titles. If she hadn't been in so much trouble right now, and if it didn't mean that Dumbledore was never coming back, Hermione would have enjoyed the sight.

"Miss Granger, I should be more surprised to see you here. It seems you have lost some of the self control you had in previous years. And Mister Malfoy, you are running on a VERY fine line here at Hogwarts. You were lucky to have been let back in at all. Do not make me take this opportunity away from you. It's your last chance to redeem yourself and your family name."

Malfoy looked down at his feet. He knew she was right. He couldn't lose his place at Hogwarts.

"You both know what you've done wrong, I don't need to sit here and tell you this. I understand things haven't been easy for either of you since the end of sixth year, but please, be adults about all of this. We are reaching for interhouse unity this year. I'm going to have to give you both detention with me from seven in the evening until eight for the rest of this week, starting tonight. Also, I think I will talk to Professor Slughorn about maintaining current seating arrangements. I will meet you outside the Great Hall to discuss what you will be doing. I see that as a fitting punishment. You will learn to get along or the detentions together will continue."

Neither Malfoy nor Hermione said a word, but they both looked severely pained at the thought.

"I better not see either of you back in here again anytime soon. You are excused from the remainder of your Potions class and will receive an Incomplete for the day. That will be all," she finished, with a stern look.

The rest of the day passed without much event. Hermione sat alone at her next two classes and didn't bother going to lunch. She didn't want to even give herself the opportunity to get into more trouble. However, by dinner, the rumble in her stomach wasn't going to allow her to skip another meal.

As she walked into the Great Hall, she ignored all the stares and whispers and just kept her chin up as she walked to the Gryffindor table. Even though she was tempted, she didn't so much as glance at Malfoy.

She took a seat, alone, at the opposite end of the table as her ex-friends. She tried not to look around too much, but she noticed Ron, Ginny and rest of their friends all get up, leaving Harry behind. As soon as they were out of the Hall, Harry looked over to Hermione and then joined her.

They avoided eye contact when he sat down.

"Hey…"

"Hi…"

"Um, thanks for what you did earlier in Potions," Hermione said, finally looking at him.

"You know I couldn't watch you deal with that git on your own." Harry grinned. Hermione couldn't help but smile back. "How much trouble did you get in?"

"I got detention with Malfoy every night for the rest of the week, plus I'm stuck with him as my partner."

"You're the one who sat by him…" Harry said, sounding confused. "Hermione, did you really sleep with him?" He blushed and looked down, as soon as he got the question out.

"No. I didn't. I didn't even snog him." She kept going before Harry could mouth his protest. "Malfoy posed all that so that's what you would think. I, being the idiotic, know-it-all loudmouth that I am, said a few choice words that he didn't particularly like. It all sort of….snowballed from there."

"Oh shit." Harry's face flushed an even brighter red at further embarrassment. "Why didn't you say something?"

"You wouldn't let me. You walked out without letting me explain myself."

"But Ron, he said he saw you leaving Malfoy's compartment when he was on his way to the bathroom. And that you admitted to doing it."

"Yeah. I lied. I was pissed off. Incredibly pissed off. And I knew it would hurt Ron. I know how immature that was, so don't lecture me. He has been such an unbelievable asshole since I broke up with him." Hermione toyed with the idea of telling Harry about the break-up itself, but decided against it. As much as she liked the idea of ruining Ron's life further, she didn't want to make Harry choose between his friends.

"Can you forgive me for not knowing you better?"

"Of course, Harry. I can't even imagine how the whole thing looked."

"Yeah, it was pretty bad. So, can you forgive me for one more thing?"

"What?"

"Well, Ron will hate me if he knows we're talking again…"

Hermione understood and saw it coming, but she couldn't hide her disappointment. "I get it, Harry. It's okay. Really."

"It won't be a permanent thing, I promise. I just need to break it to Ron slowly. I'm going to try to convince him of what you told me, if that's okay with you. I don't know if he'll believe me. I don't think he'll want to, though. I think he kind of likes the idea of thinking you're evil so he doesn't have to miss you."

Hermione just sighed. "Thank you, Harry. I'd appreciate the effort."

"Anytime, Hermione. Really." Harry hugged her. "I should probably get going now….I told Ron I'd just be a few more minutes…" He looked down, ashamed to look at her.

"It's okay. I promise."

Hermione felt a huge weight off her shoulders as he walked away. She and Harry shared something that Malfoy could never ruin, no matter what.


	7. The Darkness in his Eyes

**A/N:** Hey guys, more Draco for you! Thanks to everyone who's reviewed and added me to their favorites/story alerts lists! This isn't quiet as long as the last chapter, but I hope you guys enjoy it. It was pretty fun to write.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the plot (which is developing!).

Hermione found part of herself actually looking forward to her first detention with Malfoy that night. It wasn't that she wanted his company per se, he had just given her a lot to think about earlier on the way to McGonagall's office. She thought she had had him all figured out as the cowardly little git she met in their first year. But now, there seemed to be something more to him, and she couldn't figure it out. And nothing bothered Hermione more than not understanding something.

Maybe the war had changed him after all. He still held on to his stupid ideologies, but he was no longer the obnoxious little boy she once knew. He was a man now, with a side to him she just couldn't quite get a grip on. There was also something much darker lingering in his eyes. Something that Hermione really didn't like.

For their detention, McGonagall had decided to make them tutor first years, as they both had always had good grades. Neither of them particularly liked the idea, but they couldn't complain. They had heard of much, much worse detentions – mainly from Professor Snape's doing.

They worked in an empty classroom with a small, not-so-bright, but mostly eager group of students, who were mostly having trouble with transfiguration and potions. Hermione got them all started on what they were doing and told them to raise their hands if they needed any help. She made her way back to the table where Malfoy was sitting and plopped down next to him. McGonagall said they had better at least pretend to get along.

Hermione, ever so awkwardly, made an attempt. "So… how are you?"

Malfoy snorted. "As if you care."

A hand shot up. It belonged to a nervous looking girl, who had a half-mouse, half-teacup sitting on her desk.

Irritated with Malfoy, Hermione turned to him with a sarcastic smile. "All yours." He scowled at her, but to her surprise, got up and went to the girl. The girl's eyes widened as she saw him heading in her direction. Hermione had to suppress a laugh, even though she felt bad for her. Malfoy was as much a legend as she was, just not in such a positive light.

"What?" he asked, harshly. The girl looked near tears.

"I-I'm having trouble with this erm, spell." Malfoy pulled out his wand and fixed her mistake, turning the object back into a mouse.

"Try again."

"But, I –"

"Try again," he repeated, raising his voice slightly. At this point, the rest of the first years were all staring at him in fear. At least no one else would be raising their hands for the rest of the hour.

The girl tried the spell again and got closer this time, but her cup was still furry and had whiskers. It also made the occasional squeaking sound. Without hesitating, Malfoy turned it back into a mouse again.

"Again." The girl flinched, but did what he said, obviously too frightened to even consider protesting.

This time nothing happened.

"Again."

"I c-can't!"

"Do it again," he demanded. Hermione was about to say something to him about his harsh treatment, but with a swish of her wand, the girl had completed the spell successfully. Without another word, Draco turned from her and came back to his seat next to Hermione.

The girl looked relieved, but Hermione thought she saw her wiping away a tear.

"That was unnecessary."

"Giving up is unnecessary. If she had just kept trying on her own, she would have been fine. She doesn't need help, she just needs to man the fuck up."

"She's a first year! This was probably the first day she's ever properly waved a wand!"

"And? Is that an excuse for lack of trying?" he challenged. Hermione was lost for words. There was no arguing that. And while his technique had been harsh, it was effective. "That's the problem with all you mud-, uh, muggleborns. You're too soft. You just don't get it." Malfoy corrected himself in case the first years were listening in. He didn't want any bad reports getting back to McGonagall.

"I don't get you, Malfoy. You're not stupid. And you're not just another follower like your idiot friends. What honestly makes you believe the sh-stuff you're saying?"

"Years of experience with it, Granger. And since when did you start caring about why I think what I do? I thought you already knew everything. Or what was it, 'a hell of a lot more than me'?"

"Reasoning behind something can change everything," she said, quietly.

"Why don't you just shut up. I know we're stuck in detention together, but it doesn't mean we're suddenly best friends. Go whine about me to Potter as I'm sure you have over the past 7 years and quit trying to analyze me to my face."

"Where's the harm in just talking?"

"The harm is that I don't want to fucking talk to you!" Hermione was momentarily taken aback. How could she have forgotten that this was Draco Malfoy she was dealing with.

"Oh yeah. That's right. Gods forbid someone catches you talking with a mudblood. Forget what I said before, you're as much of a blind follower as all those worthless Death Eaters, including your family. Too worried about what everyone around you thinks to so much as make a simple decision on your own."

Hermione was fairly certain that if they had been alone, his hand would have been wrapped around her throat again. Finding that oddly satisfying, she grabbed a book out of her bag and began to read.

The remainder of the hour went by excruciatingly slowly between the students being too afraid to raise their hands and the tension between her and Malfoy. She pretended to read; there was no way she could focus.

It was finally over, however, and Hermione announced to the students that they could leave. They all raced for the door. As Hermione bent to put her book back in her bag she heard the door slam shut. Malfoy was standing near her, with his wand out.

"Are you ready to take back what you said, mudblood?"

Hermione, in her confusion, wasn't sure what to say. "What…?"

"You need to stop running your mouth, Granger. Or I'll really make you regret it." There was no smirk on his face. His eyes were dark, and focused on her, as was his wand.

"I would take it back…. If it weren't all true," Hermione said with a glare, not caring about the consequences. She did, however, reach for her wand and look for an escape route.

"Looking for this?" He already had her wand.

"How did you get that?"

"You left it on the table, you stupid mudblood. See what I mean? About the whole mudblood thing? You guys just can't keep it together. Not even smart enough to stay on guard."

"You'll get kicked out of Hogwarts if you do anything, Malfoy."

"Oh, no I won't. Because you won't be telling anyone. Trust me on that. If you do, I'll be taking it out on Potter. And at that point, I won't have anything to lose, so I won't hold back. Now, take it back."

"No."

"Ah, I see. You're letting your pride get in the way. Well, don't worry too much about that; you have nothing to be proud of. So, just let it go… or I'm really going to make you regret it. You thought what I did was bad? Just wait…"

Hermione just glared at him. She refused to give in. And he was right – her pride was on the line. She never gave in throughout all the torture she endured during the war. She wasn't about to start now.

"You're just like your crazy fucking aunt. Willing to do anything for something she didn't even understand."

"_Silencio_. I am so sick of hearing your voice. And then you go on and say something about my family. It's bad enough to listen to you prattle on about nothing. And then you start spouting out nonsense about what I don't understand and what my family doesn't understand when you're the one who DOESN'T HAVE A FUCKING CLUE." He took a second to calm himself down, before he began to step closer and closer to Hermione. She saw the incident on the train replay in her mind. Instead of backing straight up, she side-stepped as to not end up against the wall again.

Malfoy appeared to have noticed. "I see you're learning. Maybe there is hope. Oh, no, wait. There isn't. There's no hope for you. Unless we can find a way to clean that filthy blood of yours. As much as I like the idea of all your blood draining from your body, I'm not going to try it. I don't want to risk getting any on me."

By side-stepping, Hermione had unknowingly trapping herself further into a corner. And Malfoy was still coming closer, step by step, and Hermione was beginning to panic. She couldn't scream or yell or even talk back to him, and she knew she couldn't overpower him physically. Her wand was in his back pocket. Basically, she was fucked.

Malfoy just glared at her as he drew nearer. "Hm, I quite like the new, silent Granger. So much prettier when that little mouth isn't running." His eyes looked her up and down. This made Hermione extremely uncomfortable. Malfoy just laughed humorlessly as she squirmed. "Am I making you uncomfortable?" he asked, stepping so close she could feel his breath on her face. "How about now?" Taking yet another step closer, they were almost touching. She could feel her breasts brush against his chest when she breathed.

Hermione was terrified and didn't bother hiding it. She was stuck. There was nothing she could do. Unwilling to give up, however, she looked around her desperate for something she could at least hit him with and use his momentary surprise to run. But there was nothing.

All that was left was her wand. She had to find a way to reach behind him and manage to do it without getting hexed.

"Look at me!" he yelled into her face. She mouthed back, "why," wanting to scream it, forgetting she had been silenced. She lifted her face to look at his, after clearing her face of fear. He wasn't going to get that enjoyment.

She looked into his eyes and immediately regretted it. That darkness she had seen before had completely taken over. It scared the hell out of her. She quickly looked away from his eyes and down to his strong jaw bone. She followed the line of it, and then moved up to his lips. They were perfect. Full, but not to the point of being feminine. His nose was slightly pointed, but perfectly suited to the rest his angular face. His pale skin was laid over his cheekbones, which she followed up to his temples. There wasn't a single hair astray in his blonde eyebrows, but his hair was falling in locks over his forehead. Even then, it was very neat disorder, somehow. He was beautiful. There was no denying it. No matter how much she hated him. She mentally slapped herself for letting this distract her, even if just for a few moments.

Looking back down to his lips, her plan formulated. Without giving herself a chance to think about it, she closed the distance between them, leaned up and crashed her lips onto his. It had just the effect she had been hoping for. She felt his wand drop from where it was jabbed into her side and his whole body stiffened. Not sparing a second, she snaked her arms around his waist and grabbed for her wand. Without being able to see it, she couldn't find it first. Finally she felt it brush her fingers, and she grabbed it. She began to withdraw her arms, but with what seemed like lightning speed, he reached back and grabbed the wrist of her wand hand. His grip was tight, and he practically growled as he reached his other arm around her waist and pulled her body tight to his. Then he kissed her back with bruising force. The pressure of his fingers wrapped around her wrist grew painful, so much that she dropped her wand.

She was so in shock she didn't even struggle. She couldn't seem to get past the thought that Draco Malfoy was kissing her. What the hell was going on?

As his teeth latched onto her bottom lip, a sound of pain escaped her lips and only seemed to enthuse him. The hand that was holding her wrist released her and moved to the back of her head and tangled into her hair.

After a few more seconds of painful kissing, he yanked her head back by her hair and looked straight into her eyes. "Now you can tell Potter that you really did snog me." He then threw her to the floor by her hair and left the room, only stopping to add, "And if you think this is over, you've got another thing coming."

Hermione lay on the floor, out of breath, and terribly, terribly confused. What the fuck just happened?


	8. A New Perspective

**A/N:** Longest chapter yet. And lots and lots of yummy Draco for you. I poured most of my day into this chapter, so enjoy! Although, I apologize for Hermione's mental rants she goes on. My mind works in a similar way, funnily enough, so there was a bit of rambling. The vast amount of Draco should make up for it, though. ;) Oh, and more thanks for all the support is necessary! I officially have more reviews than chapters and nearly 1000 visitors! (I know that's probably not much to some of you, but I nearly pissed myself in excitement - kind of like I do every time I see I have a new review...) So, thanks for reading!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the plot (and it thickens!).

Hermione's whole body was sore the next morning. Her wrist held a dark bruise in the shape of a hand. Sitting up in bed, she rolled her head around and winced at the pain in her neck. She couldn't remember having any of this pain last night.

Unsure why, she decided not to tell anyone what happened. Logically, she knew she should go to Professor McGonagall. She could get him kicked out of Hogwarts, which was one of her revenge plans. She could also tell McGonagall about the threats to Harry and he could be protected from Malfoy. She kept telling herself that it wasn't worth the risk, that's why she wasn't telling.

Before heading to breakfast, she magically concealed the marks that he left on her. Looking in the mirror, she knew she looked jittery and nervous. She felt it, too. She still refused to let Malfoy see that he was getting to her. That he was affecting her at all. She knew that would bother him more than anything else. Staring at her reflection, she really saw how much she had changed – and Malfoy was right, it was certainly not for the better. Not really thinking about what she was doing, she dug deep into the bottom of her trunk and pulled out a tube of mascara she still had from the Yule Ball in fourth year. She felt so stupid. She hardly knew how to use the damn stuff.

She put the mascara down. What was she doing? Trying to make herself pretty? And for who? Malfoy? He had hurt her. Not just with his stupid words that now bounced right off her. He had physically hurt her. She should be pissed off at him. She should want to kill him.

Hoping that the sight of him would be enough, she started to leave for breakfast. Maybe Harry would get a chance to talk to her again. Maybe he'd even talked to Ron a bit. She knew she was hoping for a little too much, but she couldn't help herself. She wanted her friends back. She wanted her old life back, before Malfoy screwed it all up.

And still, a little voice in her head popped up to his defense. It hadn't _all _been him. She played quite a large part. So did Ron. This renewed her anger all over again. Why did she even want to be friends with Ron? After remembering what he said to her, she could honestly say she didn't. And she loved Harry, but if he couldn't man up and face Ron, why should she sit around and wait? She didn't need them.

Besides, she should be busy hatching more revenge plans against Malfoy. There was no way she could let him get away with he'd done to her.

She strolled out of the dorm, her mind reeling with thoughts of independence and strength. But not before pulling her hair back and quickly throwing on some mascara. Who said she couldn't look a little better while exhibiting her newfound strength and independence? It wasn't for anyone else - just for her, she lied to herself.

Hermione walked into the Great Hall, chin held high and just daring anyone to look at her the wrong way. Malfoy looked shocked to see her here, let alone looking just fine – if not better. Hermione smirked at the pissed off look on Malfoy's face. She just _had _to say something.

"What? Didn't get enough of this last night?" Not bothering to wait for a response, she made her way to the Gryffindor table where Harry gave her a look that clearly said "What the hell are you thinking?" Ron looked furious. Everyone else just looked incredulous. Hermione shrugged and took her new place at the end of the table, alone. Gods, that felt good. She took one more glance at Malfoy and saw him glaring a hole through her head. She smiled at him and gave him a little wave, then focused on her breakfast.

Harry appeared to have pulled off whatever he had done yesterday again with success, because the others were gone, and he was headed in her direction.

"Okay, Hermione. I'm not going to make any assumptions this time. But I have to ask…did you really –"

She cut him off. "Of course not. He just pissed me off last night at detention and I wanted to return the favor." Her conscience gave her a little tug at the half lie she told Harry, but she shrugged it off.

"Seriously? And you couldn't have done it more… I don't know... privately? How am I ever going to get Ron back on your side if you keep pulling this kind of shit?"

Anger flared up in her. "Had it occurred to you that maybe I don't give a damn what Ron thinks of me? And that maybe I'd rather not have to endure his company anymore?"

"What has he done? Has he said something to you?"

"No, Harry. Not recently. The break up just didn't go very smoothly. He said a few stupid things. You know how Ron is when he's mad." She tried to wave it off.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing of consequence. It just irritated me. More of that shit about us fucking and whatnot." She still wasn't going to give him the whole truth about that. Harry sighed.

"I should have known. I hate to ask you this, but can't you just let it go?"

"No. I won't. I'm sick of him thinking it's okay to say whatever he wants. He needs to learn to shut his mouth and keep his thoughts to himself every once in a while." This was starting to sound a little too familiar and a little too Malfoy-esque for her liking. Harry sighed resignedly, as if expecting this answer.

"You're right. I just want things to go back to the way they were. I'm sick of listening to them constantly insulting you…"

"What? Define 'them,'" Hermione demanded. Harry's face beat red.

He mumbled, "I didn't… I mean… It's not…"

"Who do you mean by 'them' Harry?" she asked more severely this time.

Harry sighed once more, knowing he wasn't going to get away with evading the question. This was Hermione, after all. "Pretty much all the Gryffindors in our year. Everyone that hangs around the common room."

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"What do you expect, Hermione? They all thinking you're sleeping with Malfoy!"

"And so what if I was? That suddenly makes me 'undesirable number one' of the Gryffindor common room? What about all that loyalty bullshit Gryffindors are supposed to be all about?"

"He actively took part in the war on Voldemort's side. He's been a complete arsehole since first year. Everyone hates him, except himself. They practically consider you a traitor for not hating him, too."

"And you would too, huh? If I were fucking him?" Harry just looked down, unable, or unwilling, to answer. "That's really great, Harry. What a fantastic friend you are."

"Honestly, are you sleeping with him or not?"

"I'm not. I already told you. That should have been enough. You know, I thought I had my best friend back. Turns out I was wrong."

"I'm sorry…"

"Yeah, only because I'm not actually sleeping with him. I thought I could trust you to be there for me. No matter what."

"Anything but that Hermione. I just couldn't support that. But it doesn't matter, does it? Because you're not sleeping with him, right?" She could not believe he had the audacity to ask her not just once, but three times.

"It does matter, Harry. You've given me a good picture of what kind of friend you really are. Go back to kissing Ron's arse. Don't bother trying to reason with him about me. I'm done with both of you." She got up and left him there at the table alone, like he'd done to her now, too many times.

She finally thought things were looking up for her, but she was wrong.

It had only been one day, but it had felt like she'd been at Hogwarts for a lifetime. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. It was as if her whole world had been turned upside down. Her friends had become her enemies. And most of her time was spent with her biggest enemy of all. He was her potions partner, as well as her partner in crime in McGonagall's eyes. And to top it all off, nobody knew the half of went down when they were alone together. Although, they certainly seemed to think they did.

Hermione entered the potions classroom feeling slightly downtrodden. She had hated losing Harry the way she did, but as she thought before, she didn't need him. She didn't need anyone. She felt Harry's gaze upon her as she took her seat next to Malfoy.

"I see you dolled yourself up a bit for me." Hermione blushed. She had forgotten all about that.

"It wasn't for you, Malfoy. So shut up."

"A bit touchy today, are we?"

"No, I'm just fine today, thanks for caring so much. It's just that, like you, I'm sick of hearing a certain someone's voice."

"So, you've finally realized how annoying you are?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant."

"Maybe you should be a little more clear, Granger, especially about what you want. Particularly when it involves me." She could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Nothing I want involves you."

"I think last night, plus the bit of effort you've put in today shows otherwise."

"You know, not everything is about you, believe it or not."

"Oh, no? Now are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"So, who is it for then?" She knew he was referring to the "bit of effort" she'd put in this morning.

"We're awfully talkative today, aren't we? Have you forgotten about my 'dirty blood' or something?"

"Oh, you silly girl, we both know I could never forget about that. It's far too obvious."

"Piss off, Malfoy."

Thankfully, before Malfoy could say anymore, Professor Slughorn chose this moment to begin class. Apparently he had better things to do during their class period, because he quickly gave them their assignment and set them to work. Hermione hoped she would get a break from dealing with Malfoy while he spoke, but it didn't look like that was about to happen.

Taking the opportunity to get away from any further awkward interrogation, she got up to retrieve the ingredients, this time without incident from Pansy. She knew it was far from over, however, when she got back to the table.

"So, when are you going to admit that you did it for me?"

"I'm not. Because I didn't."

"Oh come on, quit lying. To me and to yourself."

"You are so incredibly arrogant." She began the potion herself, since he seemed far too busy to do it himself.

"And you're being evasive, which tells me that it must have been for me. If there were another reason, I'm sure you wouldn't be able to contain yourself. You probably wouldn't stop going on about it. In reality, I should be thankful."

"It's not for you!" she half yelled, exasperated. Most of the class looked at her. Slughorn was too busy fiddling around with something behind his desk. "If you really must know, I'm seeing someone, and we have a date tonight," she flat out lied.

"Oh yeah? Is this date at seven o'clock? And is it actually a detention? With me?"

He was really beginning to piss her off. Hermione found an opportunity and took it. There was a flask at the edge of his side of the table, containing a liquid she knew wasn't particularly dangerous, but it caused serious itching and irritation when it got on your skin. As she reached across the table for a stirring rod, she "accidentally" knocked the flask right into his lap. Its contents spilled across his thighs and was pooling in a certain special area.

Malfoy stood up, his chair falling over behind him. "What the fuck, you stupid mudblood? What is wrong with you? God, that fucking _burns_," he added quietly, through clenched teeth. Hermione had to put everything she had into containing her laughter.

In a low voice that she hoped no one else could her, she asked "How does it feel to be on the receiving end?" He glared at her. If he was surprised by her comment, it wasn't showing through his anger.

The commotion had caught Slughorn's attention, who grimaced at the sight. "Oh my, that must burn. You'll need to see Madam Pomfrey right away. She should put that right in no time. Miss Granger, would you please accompany your partner to the hospital wing? I'm not sure it'll be an easy walk for Mister Malfoy…" She heard some quiet sniggers from the Gryffindor side of the room.

"I'll take him! I really don't mind," Pansy offered from behind them, standing up.

"No, that's quite alright dear. Miss Granger wouldn't have a partner to continue working with anyway. You are excused from class. You will not receive a grade – don't worry, it won't affect your overall grade."

"Can I go now?" Malfoy asked hurriedly.

"Oh yes, please do. The longer the potion remains there the more of an effect it has…" Slughorn trailed off, with another grimace.

Malfoy walked cowboy style out of the room, eliciting more laughter from the Gryffindors. Harry gave Hermione a huge smile, but she only glared in return.

"Alright there, John Wayne?"

"Who the fuck is John Wayne?" He seemed too distracted by the burning in his pants to really let his anger shine through.

"Oh, nobody important," Hermione said, not bothering to restrain her laughter any longer. Whether it was the way he was walking, or his complete lack of muggle pop culture, she wasn't sure. Probably both.

"You are so going to fucking regret this, Mudblood."

"You know, something tells me that this is totally worth it."

"It's so damn itchy," he practically yelled in frustration.

"Careful Malfoy, you're losing your cool a little bit."

"Shut up, you stupid little twat. Get away from me."

She just laughed more, his insult not affecting her. "Wow, Malfoy! You've really broadened your insult horizons, I see. Oh, and hell no. I am not getting into any more trouble."

"Then shut your fucking mouth. Or I'll give you real trouble to worry about," he growled.

"You know, I don't think I will…" She finally had the upper hand with him. She was not about to give this up. She knew he couldn't do anything to her right now. It was the beginning of the day, and they were walking through the hall in broad daylight. Besides, he had a minor problem on his hands. Well, not exactly on his hands… "You should be happy. This is the second time we've successfully gotten out of potions," she tried to joke. He ignored her, still seething.

"You're not the only one capable of a little lighthearted revenge, you know," she said, smirking, knowing that there was nothing lighthearted about what he had done to her. Or what she had done to him, really. "You better be careful, I can be a real klutz during potions class."

He turned to face her, stopping in the middle of the hallway, and seeming to completely forget the potion splashed across the front of his pants. "If this ever happens again you'll be lucky to see the next day."

"As if you would actually go through with it." Although, she really didn't doubt him from the look in his eyes. He seemed capable of anything when that darkness took over.

"Don't doubt me, mudblood," he spat at her with more venom than she thought anyone was capable of putting into words.

Not wanting to start something in the hallway. "Have you forgotten about something?" she asked, gesturing to his pants.

"No, I just wanted to make sure I put you in your place before you went too far yet again. I'd hate to get kicked out of Hogwarts due to the death of a certain mudblood so early on in the year." With that, he turned and continued down the hall. Hermione followed suit. The rest of the trip was made in silence.

When they arrived, Hermione made to follow him through the door, but he stopped her. "You can fuck off, now."

"Fine." As Hermione began to walk away she could hear Madam Pomfrey.

"Oh dear, what happened?"

"There was an accident in Potions…"

As Hermione made her way to her dorm, she wondered why he hadn't tried convincing anyone that she'd done it on purpose. She doubted it would have been that difficult, considering their obvious hatred for one another. People were probably more apt to take her word for it, though. She shrugged the thought off, but still couldn't get Malfoy out of her head. And that darkness she kept seeing in his eyes. It truly frightened her. What had happened to him to make him lose all his boyish innocence? She no longer saw any trace of it lingering on his face.

Throughout the rest of the day, Hermione sat by herself and consciously forced herself not to think about Malfoy, who she hadn't seen at lunch or dinner. Harry, however, kept looking at her as if he wanted to talk to her. Anytime she noticed, she's purse her lips and give him a look that she hoped conveyed the message that she didn't want anything to do with him.

As time for detention drew nearer, she began to worry. Would he be there? Would he be prepared to kill her on the spot? Would his testicles still be itchy? Hermione shook her head and tried to dispel any thoughts of Malfoy's testicles that lingered in her brain.

She received an owl from Professor McGonagall that she would be meeting with Malfoy and the first years in a different classroom, and that this would be where they would meet for the remainder of the week.

She nearly sighed in relief at the mention of Malfoy in the note. At first, she was worried the note would tell her that Malfoy would not be there due to his medical condition. She mentally slapped herself for worry and relief. What was going on with her? Was it that their vengeful, hate-filled relationship was the only constant means of a social life that she had? That must have been it. She tried very hard to convince herself of this, even though she couldn't stop thinking about his breath in her face or the strength of his arm wrapped around her waist.

He wasn't a scrawny little boy anymore, as he used to be. Before the war, she probably would have been evenly matched with him physically. But now, sinewy muscle bulged under the skin of his arms whenever he tensed. And considering he was tense the majority of the time he was around Hermione, she saw it quite frequently.

Hermione grew more frustrated with herself as she tried to pry her mind away from his physical appearance. Yes, he is hot. He is damn hot. But he was still an arrogant prick. No matter how perfect his manly physique was. She eventually managed to compromise with herself and admit that was extremely physically attractive, but she was not attracted to him herself. The reasoning made sense to her, anyway, and set her mind at ease.

Before she left for detention, she glanced at herself in the mirror, which she found herself doing more often than usual today. She wondered why it was always the arsehole guys and bitchy girls who managed to look the best. Her muddy brown eyes, plain facial features and body, and disaster of a hairdo never allowed her to be much of a looker. It had never bothered her much before, but Malfoy's comments really made her realize how right he was. She had just gone from bad to worse since the war.

As she examined herself, she noted that the mascara did brighten her eyes quite a bit, and pulling her hair back made her look a bit less like a mad scientist. It wasn't much, but it was something. Besides, she wasn't willing to spend hours in front of the mirror just to be another fake girl, like the rest of them. What you see is what you got, with her, and that was one thing she could admire about herself. That and not worrying about looking like Alice Cooper in the morning were things she could appreciate about a simple beauty routine.

She laughed silently to herself as her muggle references reminded her of the "John Wayne" incident with Malfoy. It made her appreciate being a muggleborn a little more. She'd learned all the good wizarding icons and pop culture references, and she'd held onto the ones from the muggle world, as well. It made her feel like quite the well-rounded individual.

She left the dorm, once again in a positive mood, and ignored all the stares and whispers as she passed through the common room. She saw Ron, who probably had only seen her properly for the first time today, and she was momentarily confused by the surprise on his face. Then she remembered. She'd never fixed up for him. If you could call this "fixed up." The most done up she'd ever been was at the Yule Ball, and she would never do that again. Her hair had taken ages to tame, and Ginny had spent far too long on her makeup. She hardly felt like herself when she was done. She hardly looked like herself, for that matter. Although, most of the people at the ball seemed to think this was a good thing.

She met Malfoy at the door, who now looked no worse for the wear considering today's events.

"So, it _was _for me then…" he said, smirking at her and blocking the doorway.

"No, it still wasn't for you."

"Oh, of course, you have a date tonight. So who is this date with?"

"That's none of your business. Now, would you please move? We have a detention to get through."

"Are you wearing your uniform to your date?"

"Yes. Unlike you, not all men care solely about a woman's looks. So, how are you testicles feeling?"

He glared, but ignored her question completely. "Why bother with the rest of it then? I mean, honestly, you could at least wear a uniform that's your size." She realized he was taking a jab at her loosely fitting top, and slightly too long skirt. She personally saw no problem with it.

"There's nothing wrong with my uniform."

"Except for that you're swimming in it." She glared at him. She was about to protest further, but he whipped out his wand and cast a charm on her that made her top alarmingly tight and shortened her skirt by at least six inches. It now came to mid-thigh.

"Wow, Granger really does have tits! Not too bad a pair, either, for a mudblood," Malfoy said, smirking gleefully at his work.

"Fix it, Malfoy. And please remove your eyes from my body," she said, as she shifted uncomfortably under his stare.

"I _did _fix it, Granger. It's much better now. Now you're ready for your date."

"Put it back to the way it was!"

"Not until you tell me who your date's with…"

She glared at him and then shoved past him to get through the door. She was done talking to him. Once she got the first years started on their work she would either get him to fix her uniform or find a way to fix it herself. This kind of thing wasn't exactly her specialty. She was more interested in charms that actually had practical use.

The first thing that she noticed when she walked in the door was that the number of students had definitely grown. The second was that the majority of the group was now female. The third thing she noticed was that one of the remaining three boys was eyeing up her legs a touch too obviously. She threw a deadly glare in his direction that fixed that problem immediately.

The girls were all giggling and seemed to be surrounding the little girl Malfoy had helped last night. Malfoy, now behind Hermione, had caught all of their attention. Hermione wanted to laugh. "Looks like you've got a few new admirers, Malfoy."

The girls all blushed. "All right _ladies_ and gentlemen, please get started on whatever you're having trouble with and raise your hands if you need any help."

Before either of them could take their seats, one of the girls had thrown her hand into the air. Hermione raised an eyebrow at her.

"Try it on your own at least once, sweetie. If you have trouble, then I'll send the lovely Mister Malfoy here to help you out." The girl blushed and quickly opened her book, looking very interested in what it had to say.

Malfoy smirked at her. "What can I say? I'm a magnet for them." Hermione just shook her and rolled her eyes at him.

"They're also eleven and twelve, so don't get any ideas."

"Oh, don't you worry, love, all my best ideas only involve you and this wonderful new uniform you got." He reached a hand out, tucking a lock of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear. Hermione nearly flinched when his hand came toward her face, but maintained her calm facade. She was lost for words and just stared at him. She was about to ask him what the fuck he was doing, when she saw him glance over at the girls with a smirk on his face. They were all glaring daggers at Hermione, clearly jealous.

"Careful, Malfoy, don't make your new fan club too jealous," she said, pulling away from him slightly. His new behavior clearly had two motives: making the girls hate her, and making her extremely uncomfortable.

"It's not my fault your arse looks wonderful in that new skirt of yours." Hermione's jaw dropped a little, as had half of the little girls'. She looked at him as if he were deranged. He had definitely succeeded in making her uncomfortable. Now it was her turn.

Putting on the sweetest expression she could she said, "Oh thank you, Draco, I was hoping you would notice," and threw her arms around his shoulders. She felt him tense up and smiled to herself. His turn to feel uncomfortable. He was obviously much better at this game than she was, though, because he pulled away slightly, giving her an adoring look.

"Save it for later, love. Don't want to get too carried away like you do in front of the kiddies." Hermione snorted.

After a few minutes of silence, one of the boys raised his hand for help. Hermione looked to Draco, who gave her quite an obvious "I'm not moving" look, so she got up to help him.

"Yes?"

"I'm writing an essay for potions class, and I can't find what a bezoar is supposed to do in my book anywhere." Forgetting about her "new skirt" as Malfoy had referred to it, she squatted down, thankfully with her legs closed, next to the boy;s desk to look at his text.

"If you refer to the index, here, you should be able to find it. But, basically, a bezoar is kind of a solution to everything. It remedies a lot of various poisons. You can find it in the belly of a goat." She said all this as she found 'bezoar' in the index and flipped to the proper page. "Ah, here it is. I hope that helps," she said, with a polite smile and went back to her seat next to Malfoy. Although, she noticed a few more eyes on her this time. The two other boys were staring at her as if she had tentacles sprouting from her head. And not only were the boys gawking, but Malfoy was too, but he had his signature smirk on his face.

She sat down and glared at him questioningly.

"So, red knickers, eh?" he asked, leaning close and speaking quietly. Hermione blushed furiously.

"What? How -?"

"Got quite the view from here. Can't imagine what those little boys got to see. Must have been quite the show. Probably pitched a few tents if you get what I mean," still speaking under his breath.

"You're repulsive!" she whispered, now yanking at the hem of her skirt. "I forgot all about this fucking skirt. Ugh."

"Well, at least we know what the talk of the first year boys will be tomorrow," he said, with a wink.

"I hate you."

The boys had raised their hands a couple more times over the rest of the hour, but gave up when she kept sending Malfoy. She was not moving from her seat until they were all gone. She could not understand how Malfoy always knew exactly what to do to humiliate her. She was extremely surprised that he complied when she demanded that he do all the helping. The girls had raised their hands a couple more times, too, which Malfoy also went for, but he dismissed them almost immediately both times, telling them that they had stupid questions. She almost felt bad for the poor girls. She would have, anyway, if she thought they actually needed help and weren't just coming up with whatever question they could think of to get Malfoy's attention.

The hour finally ended and the students left – most of them rushing out due to various degrees of embarrassment. When the room was empty, Hermione made sure she had a firm grip on her wand and turned to Malfoy.

"Fix my damn uniform, now."

"Not a chance," he said, eyeing her up and down. "You should appreciate it. Your date might actually be interested in what you have to say now. If he exists, that is. And something's telling me that he doesn't."

Hermione refused to ask him nicely, so she once again demanded him to fix it.

"Now, what makes you think you're going to get your way with that tone of voice? You know, I was going to extend our little detention tonight to further your punishment, but I think I've done quite enough. For tonight, that is. Especially considering tomorrow your red lacey, thong will be all the rage of the first year gossip, tomorrow. Maybe it'll go even farther than the first years. I can only hope."

"It's not a thong!" Hermione protested, loudly.

"Oh, but by tomorrow, it will be. Everyone will be thrilled to hear their little mudblood war heroine wears sexy underwear! Wait… I notice you don't deny the lace…" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I…. It's…" She was stammering. She couldn't deny it. A couple weeks ago, when she and Ron were still together and at the Burrow, he had secretly replaced her entire bra and underwear supply with his idea of 'sexy lingerie.' She wanted to complain, but she had actually hoped it might give their sex life a little more spark.

"Huh." That was all he said, as he smirked at her one last time, and walked out the door.

He had left her to walk the halls this way. Giving herself a moment to collect herself, she tried yanking the hem of the skirt down a little more, but to no avail. It was by far the shortest skirt she had ever worn in her life. Giving up, she threw on her best look of confidence and stepped out of the room.

Thankfully, since it was quite late in the evening, the halls were nearly empty, but as she came upon the portrait of the Fat Lady, she realized this was the part she was really dreading. Even the woman in the painting raised an eyebrow at her. Hermione chose to ignore it before she lost her nerve and slept in the hall.

Keeping her chin held high, she entered the common room. And if she thought Ron had looked surprised before, she wasn't even sure what to call the look on his face now. Nor that of anyone else that was sitting in the common room. Harry wasn't there, thank the gods. He was probably alone with Ginny in her own room that Hermione was absolutely aching for.

All Hermione could do at this point was laugh. Ron, who was sitting close to Lavender Brown with his arm wrapped around her, couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. Lavender looked beyond pissed off and about ready to slap the redhead next to her. Being the opportunist that she was, Hermione just had to say something.

"Ron, hun, you should probably wipe that drool off your chin." With that, Hermione strode to the stairwell leading to the girls' dormitory, giving her hips a little more sway than she normally would. It was surprisingly empowering, to hold a man's attention that way. No wonder girls dressed like slags so often, she thought to herself.

As she slowly made her way up the stairs, she could hear Lavender loudly complaining about what a skank she was. Hermione just laughed, thinking she might have to thank Malfoy for this later…


	9. One Really Shitty Day

**A/N**: Hey guys, so I want to apologize for posting such a short chapter. My feelings were clearly reflected in it, as I've had a rather shitty day myself (Although, I've got nothing on Hermione) and I just feel like doing a bit of reading for a change, rather than writing. This chapter's a little more intense than the others. I hope that makes up for the length and you can all forgive me. Thanks so much for reading and enjoy.

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing but the plot.

She was starting to get used to all the whispers and head turns, Hermione thought to herself, as she entered the Great Hall for breakfast, but they didn't annoy her any less. She had spent half the night trying to figure out the charm to fix her uniform, when she finally did, she didn't put it back quite to the same loose and too big state it was in before, but it was no longer the skin-tight, having-to-apologize-for-your-arse-falling-out-of-the-bottom-of-your-skirt type deal that it was. Even though it wasn't a dramatic change, it was definitely getting attention and she was surprised by just how much. Her uniform was fitting similarly to how most of the other girls wore theirs. I guess it was just something no one expected from her – and since a lot of attention was already on her (thank you, Malfoy), they noticed.

She hated herself for it, but she loved the way Ron gawked at her as she walked past him. Hermione knew this new outfit didn't make her any more attractive, but since Ron had at least at some point been attracted to her (she hoped), and it obviously had an effect on him. What did she care what that stupid git thought about her? She reasoned with herself that it was just because of a recent breakup. But, as usual, she knew she was lying to herself. She hadn't really had feelings for him for months.

These thoughts turned her mood sour and in a hurry. She hadn't slept enough last night, and it showed. She was downright irritable. She wanted to rip the eyeballs right out of the sockets of those that so much as glanced in her direction.

Taking her seat at the end of the table, she grabbed a piece of toast and viciously buttered it, staring directly at Malfoy the whole time. All this was his fault, after all. All the new attention. The hateful glares she was on the receiving end of from her old friends.

It seemed that Ron hadn't learned anything from their first meal back at Hogwarts, because he was loudly talking about her again. "Of course she whored up her wardrobe; Malfoy wouldn't be caught dead shagging anything less than a total slag… even she's smart enough to have figured that one out."

Still not removing her eyes from Malfoy, she yelled loud enough for everyone to hear, "Shut your fucking mouth, Ronald. Have you checked your new girlfriend's skirt, lately? It's about three inches shorter than mine, so don't you dare call me a slag."

Malfoy's smirk grew, obviously enjoying her chastisement of Ron. When she had finished destroying yet another piece of toast with her butter knife, she looked over at him and gave him her deadliest scowl. She knew she probably looked demented, but she just didn't care.

"She's not my girlfriend…" she was pretty sure she heard Ron mutter. Lucky for him, Lavender wasn't present.

"I fucking bet. That's why you were hanging all over her last night. Although, it seemed that I was the one you couldn't take your eyes off of." Hermione looked around and saw there were no professors present in the Great Hall. Perfect. She was going to take this opportunity to publicly humiliate the man who managed to break her heart with his words, when it wasn't really his to begin with.

"I was just surprised to see such a skank walking through the common room," Ron said, making up an excuse for his obvious behavior he couldn't deny.

"Yes, that's what it was, I'm sure. Your eyes weren't moving between my tits and thighs the whole time or anything." Her sarcasm and crudeness seemed to shock most of the student body. Lavender chose this moment to join them at their meal. Her mouth immediately turned down into a frown.

"You don't even know what you're talking about," Lavender said to her, condescendingly.

"Don't even get me started on you…" she spat in the girl's directions. "Ron, maybe you should shut your girl up…"

"She is _not_ my girl!" he yelled back at her. Lavender was now looking at him, clearly furious. Hermione laughed. Seeing her anger, he quickly shut his mouth. Smart move.

Feeling accomplished, she got up to leave, her very well-buttered toast untouched.

"Have you checked yourself for diseases lately? Looking a bit peaky. You're bound to have caught something from that slimy git." He just _had _to try to get the last word in, didn't he? He really should have known better.

"Fucking hell, Ron, are you really that jealous? You should learn to watch your damn mouth. You might have actually had a second chance with me if you knew how."

"Yeah, like I'd want another chance with you." His inability to look in her eye said otherwise.

"You just keep telling yourself that when you're fucking this cunt over here and trying not to cry out my name when you cum," she said, nodding her head toward Lavender.

"What did you just call me?" Hermione was trying to pretend the silly girl didn't exist, but she just making it so fucking difficult.

"A cunt. You know, another word for the female genitals. Vagina. Twat. Whatever you like."

"You foul-mouthed bitch!" Lavender came at her, obviously ready for a catfight. Hermione quickly threw a shielding charm up, violently impeding the attack. Lavender looked dumbfounded, as she hit the shield and fell on her bum.

"Don't you fucking touch me," she said, glaring down her nose at the girl. Hermione took one last look at Malfoy, who was practically in hysterics, and left the Hall. She was absolutely fuming. She knew she should have contained her anger a little more, but she didn't want to. She couldn't have cared much less at that moment about what anyone thought, or what trouble this might get her into. Lavender was lucky her head was still attached to her shoulders.

"That was bloody brilliant! For a mudblood, that is." She would recognize that voice anywhere.

"Get the fuck away from me, Malfoy. I don't feel like dealing with your endless taunting, if you could call it something so nice."

"Someone's a little crabby today. Is it because you were up all night, thinking of me, as you fingered yourself to an orgasm, wishing it was my fingers underneath those red, lacey knickers?"

"You wish." His crudeness didn't even faze her right now. She just wanted to get as far from him as possible. She wanted to cry. He had other ideas, however, as he followed her. "Why won't you just leave me the hell alone?"

"I'd rather not. Besides, I wanted to let you know that word of your knickers has spread all the way through third year. You're quite popular with the young boys."

Turning to him, she asked, "Why are you trying to ruin my life?" with sincerity that seemed to shock him. It registered on his face, but only for a fraction of a second.

"You ruin mine."

"What have I ever done to you to deserve what you've done to me? Honestly?"

"You existed, Mudblood." His lighthearted mood was now gone, the darkness ebbing in. "Your filthy existence in this school has been enough to ruin my entire education. You strut through these halls as if you actually belong here. Like you're welcome here. And you're not."

"How dare you? I've earned my place here more than you ever have. I have worked my arse off, and I deserve to be here as much, if not more, than any other pureblood student in this school."

"Don't compare yourself them. They're your superiors, and you're dirty. Worthless scum, you are. You need to learn to have a little more respect." He was getting closer to her again, and she welcomed it. She was ready to take on anyone. The rage rushing through her body had her quivering from head to toe.

"Fuck you, Malfoy," she said, tears welling up in her eyes. His harsh words normally never affected her this way, but everything was already so wrong. "Go fuck yourself and each of your little superior pureblood friends if you think they're so great."

"Watch yourself," he growled. "Watch what you say to me."

"No. I'm done censoring myself, if you haven't noticed." She got in his face this time. She was too enraged… too upset to be afraid of him. "You are nothing but an arrogant, self-righteous bastard. You think you're so great when you're nothing but a coward! A worthless coward! And I am so fucking sick of the way you look down your nose at me, like you're so much better. At least I fought for what I believed in. I always have. You… you just stand there and watch, and let everyone do your bidding for you. You even stood back and practically let one of your friends die for you!" His eyes narrowed even further at her reference to Crabbe's death. Hermione was gasping for her air after her rampage, and realizing she had been jabbing her finger into his chest, punctuating each sentence physically.

"Get your bloody finger the fuck off of me!" He yelled in her face, smacking her hand away hard. The side of Hermione's hand stung from the impact. She glared in reproach. He then reached out, grabbing her chin with a brutal amount of force. The bruising pressure of his fingers made her want to cry out, but she wasn't about to let that happen. Not in front of him. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she bit her lip to hold in the pain.

"Look at me." He sounded strangely calm. Reluctantly opening her eyes, she met his beautiful, penetrating gaze. Her anger disappeared, along with the pain where his fingers squeezed her jaw. All she could do was stare back into those silver eyes. There was so much pain and so much conflict lying in them. Her heart ached for him.

They remained that way for what felt like an eternity, but in reality was only seconds.

As he pushed her away from him by the grip on her chin, everything came flowing back, drowning her. This was the man she loathed almost more than any other. Her childhood nemesis and the current bane of her existence. The ache came back to her jaw, as did the realization of what just happened while she regained her balance, both mentally and physically. She didn't dare look at his face again, afraid of what she might see.

"You better watch your back, mudblood." His words penetrated her in a way that made a shiver crawl up her spine. She would never, ever admit it out loud, but the power that beautiful, blonde man had over her absolutely terrified her.


End file.
